Retaining wall project put on hold

A new discovery has put the repairs to the retaining wall on National Avenue near 7th Street on hold.

Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner said the retaining wall project has been put on hold because of the discovery of a separated drainage pipe beneath the portion of National Avenue where the retaining wall is located. The broken pipe needs to be fixed before moving forward, he said.

"That's going to have to be fixed before we can actually fix the wall," Turner said.

The project was ready to go to bid when the separated pipe was found, according to Turner. The project will now be consolidated to include the repairs to the pipe, the retaining wall on the east site of National Avenue, and resolving drainage issues on the west side of National Avenue, Turner added

"We are going to have to look at it more as a bigger project than we anticipated," Turner said.

Originally, the work was projected to cost approximately $72,000. Turner said it is too early to determine what the cost of the additional work will be.

According to Turner, the engineer has not yet made a design for the project. Once the designs are completed, the project will go out to bid.

Although the separated pipe is not a safety issue, Turner said he wants to get the project back on track quickly.

"I would like to get this project done this construction season," Turner said. "This project may be able to be completed in the winter, but I'd like to get it done by November at least.".